Pharaoh's secret
by super-sugarzoom
Summary: Slowly he turned the pendant over, unconsciously holding his breath...the name of his ancient lover revealed. For Mandi please R


Hey you guys… I'm back with another one. I haven't decided if I want to keep this a long one-shot or put more to it, I guess I'll let you guys decide that one.

Few things you may need to know about it:

Yami doesn't remember his life in ancient Egypt, his memory was wiped when he was sealed but he wasn't sealed to save the universe from Zork, it is a bit confusing, now you see why I didn't know whether to make it longer to explain everything.

Bakura remembers everything from his life in Egypt.

I am using the names Atemu and Akefia to distinguish that they were a little different back then.

This is dedicated to my best friend Mandi because she rocks ass!

I don't own YGO, I'm no where near that imaginative to come up with something so cool as YGO.

Pharaoh's secret

* * *

Yami opened the café door and looked around. Sitting up the corner at a small table sat Ishizu Ishtar and Bakura. He walked over uncertainly and sat in the only vacant seat left next to Bakura.

"You wanted to talk to me?" His question was directed at Ishizu yet his gaze was fixed on Bakura. The thief was glaring at the table top as though it had just insulted him.

"Yes, I needed to see both of you, I feel it is somewhat of interest to you." Yami quirked an eyebrow and Bakura gave a bored sigh. "This morning I received a letter concerning your past in Egypt." Ishizu told Yami while Bakura picked up an empty sugar sachet and began to tear it up as though it was in league with the insulting table top.

"What did the letter say?" Yami asked ignoring Bakura as he gave another sigh, sending the remains of the sachet across the table.

"Well, it was sent from a friend of mine, an archaeologist. He informed me that the rumours of Pharaoh Kanadie were true. I presume you know the rumours?" Yami shook his head. Ishizu glanced at Bakura who had rested his head against the wall beside his chair and was paying no attention to either of them. She gave a small sigh.

"Pharaoh Kanadie ruled Egypt quite a while before either of you were born. I'm surprised you don't remember or haven't learnt of him through school. Pharaoh Kanadie's story went down in history as the greatest scandal of Egypt."

"Why, what did he do?"

"Pharaoh Kanadie had forged two silver cartouches. Both had identical patterns engraved on the back by a very talented jeweller, so the cartouches could be matched. On the front of one of the cartouches was engraved the Pharaohs name and on the other one was engraved the name of his secret lover." At this Yami and Bakura looked up. Bakura let his jaw drop in shock but Yami looked confused.

"Wait, why did he keep his lover a secret, if a pharaoh found someone he loved it was usually announced to the whole of Egypt."

"Think about what you're saying Yami." The former pharaoh still looked perplexed. "You said if the pharaoh found _someone_ he loved." Ishizu tried to help him out.

"Yeah, and?"

"Yami, it was only announced to the whole of Egypt if the pharaoh had chosen the suitor he liked best." Bakura decided to take over what Ishizu was trying to explain. Yami still wasn't getting it. "In other words, the reason the pharaoh would have kept his lover a secret would be because she was a servant or peasant." Finally, realisation dawned on the former pharaoh and he let his jaw drop too. Both him and Bakura knew what consequences a pharaoh falling in love with someone who wasn't royalty held.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand. My friend wrote to me, informing me that he had made a discovery, quite a few years back, confirming the rumours of Pharaoh Kanadie-"

"You said this letter concerned us." Yami interrupted, "What's this pharaoh have to do with us?"

"I was getting to that," Ishizu answered patiently, "As I was saying, at first my friend wasn't sure his discovery was genuine. The rumours had sparked of interest in archaeologists and Egyptologists alike, as well as tourists. Duplicates of the cartouches were made in their thousands, so my friend was suspicious. After further research however, he discovered it to be a genuine secrèt cartouche."

"A what?" Yami quirked an eyebrow.

"A secrèt cartouche. Named 'secrèt' due to where the silver came from. There was a country near to Egypt back then called Tarne, which had a language unique to that country, nowhere else spoke it. the word 'silver' in their language was pronounced secrèt, whish is close to the word secret." Yami nodded in understanding and Bakura wore an unreadable expression.

"Right so… your friend found this secrèt cartouche…" Yami trailed of signalling for Ishizu to carry on.

"Yes, he found it, but the thing is…the secrèt cartouches for Pharaoh Kanadie and his lover had already been found, and they resided in a museum display here in Domino." Yami looked confused again for a second.

"Your display?" Ishizu nodded. Yami processed this information again. "Wait, so if both of the cartouches had been found and were on display, who did the third cartouche belong to?" Ishizu smiled, glad Yami understood. She turned to her bag which was on the chair next to her and brought out a small brown envelope.

"Wait," Bakura said suddenly, "You have the third cartouche?" Ishizu looked at Bakura and noticed the edginess he was failing to hide.

"Well, there's more to this story." Ishizu focussed on the envelope in her hands, Yami doing the same, both of them missing the nervous glance Bakura threw at the envelope. Ishizu opened the envelope and pulled out a silver chain with a heavy looking silver cartouche pendant, slightly damaged and eroded from five millennia in the desert. She placed it carefully on the table and pushed it towards Yami and Bakura. They leant in closer to have a better look at it.

"Wow!" Yami breathed, taking in the delicately carved pattern on the back. Beautiful swirling shapes centred around a small pyramid with the sennen eye engraved onto it. Bakura had leant in to look, to confirm his suspicions, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the familiar pattern on the cartouche.

"You said there was more to this story." Bakura prompted, still not taking his eyes off the pendant.

"Yami, turn the cartouche over." Ishizu instructed, a small smile gracing her lips. Yami did as he was told. On the front of the cartouche was a name in hieroglyphics. Yami took in the well known characters a few times before they completely sunk in. Yami gasped.

"T-this says Atemu!" Ishizu nodded. "But that was my name, there must some mistake. The only reason my name would be on a secrèt cartouche would be if…"

"If you also had a secret lover when you were pharaoh." Ishizu finished for him. Yami raised a hand to his head as he let this sink in. Ishizu glanced at Bakura who had remained silent for a while. Ishizu was shocked to see the thief looking at Yami with…_fear_…and _hurt_ in his eyes.

"This cant be right." Yami found his voice again drawing her attention away from Bakura. Something clicked at the back of her mind. Something she wasn't sure _if_ or _how_ she should bring it to light.

"I assure you it is correct Yami. Remember that I just told you there was more to this story?" Yami nodded.

"There is more _still_?"

"Yes. Well, this cartouche, as I said, was found a few years ago. My friend sent me the letter recently upon finding the secrèt cartouche with the matching pattern to this-"

"Stop!" Bakura commanded suddenly, holding a hand up to silence her. Ishizu ignored his gesture.

"He has a right to know Bakura. I'm shocked you haven't told him already-"

"I have my own reasons for keeping this to myself-"

"What are you two going on about?" Yami looked confusedly from Ishizu to Bakura.

"I think we should let Yami decide," Ishizu rose her voice as Bakura began to protest, "He should be able to decide whether to hear about his past, baring in mind how you feel about disclosing the information, or, to push this aside and go on not knowing." Bakura scowled at Ishizu's chosen words, knowing that it would spur Yami to pick her point of view, not that he needed the persuasion. When it came to information about his past, Yami wanted to know it all. Ishizu looked at Yami waiting for his answer. He looked at Bakura again before answering.

"I want to know."

"As you wish," Bakura scowled again and looked away. "As I was saying, my friend wrote to me upon finding the secrèt cartouche matching this one…" She motioned to the pendant with Yami's ancient name carved onto it. "The cartouche revealing your secret lovers name." Ishizu reached into the envelope again and brought out a second cartouche, this one looking slightly worse for wear than the first one, Ishizu placed it face down on the table top, so the pattern was facing up, and slid it towards Yami since Bakura was too busy glaring at her to look at it and being as he already seemed to know anyway…

Yami stared at the pattern adorning the second cartouche. It matched the pattern on the first one exactly, there was no mistake, they were a pair. He lifted his hand and it hovered over the pendant. Slowly he turned it over, unconsciously holding his breath…

Yami stared in complete disbelief at the name engraved into the front of the cartouche. Again the hieroglyphics were well known, he had seen them multiple times, yet even as he stared at them, Yami felt as though he was seeing them for thee first time.

He looked up at Ishizu with wide eyes. "This isn't real!"

"It is Yami, a lot of research was carried out and it is confirmed." Yami stared again at the name carved into the silver…

"Akefia" He whispered Bakura's ancient name in complete shock. "But I don't understand, you hate me now, how could we have ever been lovers?" Yami looked up at Bakura whose expression had softened slightly. Something clicked into place in Yami's mind. "You knew all along didn't you?" Bakura remained silent, avoiding eye contact, "You knew all this time, and you never thought to tell me?" Yami's voice rose slightly.

"I'm leaving, I didn't want to come in the first place." Bakura stood and began striding towards the door.

"Wait! I'm not finished with you yet tomb robber!"

"Well I'm finished with you! I was a long time ago!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't remember." Yami followed the thief out onto the street, determined to try and understand.

"How convenient!" Bakura spat.

"Bakura, how is it that we were lovers? How is it that we loved each other enough that we risked execution? How is it we were lovers in a past life, but neither of us died, then when reincarnated you just suddenly hated me? I don't understand!" Bakura turned and gave Yami a filthy look, one of pure emotion, and hurt.

"Fuck off Y-pharaoh!" the slip up didn't go unnoticed.

"Go on, tell me! Since you didn't have your memory wiped I'm sure you know loads of things I don't, so go ahead, start spilling!" Bakura's anger was building up and rising, he could feel it just below the surface waiting for something to tip it over the edge. And due to Yami's ranting and raving, that something wasn't a long way off. Bakura tried to keep calm and carried on walking down the street. Yami still following him.

"Come on, oh mighty thief king, tell me! Or are you scared I'll think you have feelings or that you have a heart?" Bakura stopped dead in his tracks. Yami stopped a few yards behind, knowing full well what Bakura's anger could lead him to do. Bakura turned and Yami was surprised to see tracks from tears on the thief pale face. He walked forward so he was inches away from Yami's face and spoke in a quiet deadly tone.

"You wanna know? I'll tell you. I hate you because you let me die, you let me get sealed."

"I-I don't understand."

"We got caught together Yami, by your bastard of a cousin, and I was sentenced to death for two reasons. One, I was the king of thieves and two, _I was in bed with you._ You didn't do a thing to stop them. You sat there on your throne and watched as my soul got sealed inside this infernal inanimate object and my body thrown in a pit to rot! That's why I hate you pharaoh, because you lied to me. You said you loved me," Bakura's voice broke as he spoke and more fresh tears were coursing down his face, "You told me you loved me then you watched me die without a care!" Bakura turned and ran away from him, leaving him standing there frozen in the middle of the street.

What both of them didn't know is that there was still more of this story.

* * *

Finished! WOot! Now you see, I've kinda left the ending open 'cause I don't know what to do! I could write more or I could leave it at that. I'm relying on you guys to make my mind up for me okay? Review please!

Hope you liked it my little chickadee Mandi! Loads of love!


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